One mission is complete and another is just getting started. Sully the service dog, who famously stood by his “boss,” George H.W. Bush, in the months before the former president’s death in November, is back to work.
Sully, named after “hero pilot” Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, was sworn in Wednesday to the Facility Dog Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“It was (President Bush’s) wish that Sully serve other veterans,” said Sully’s trainer, Valerie Cramer of America’s VetDogs, during a news conference in December. Cramer went on to describe Sully as calm, loyal, smart and adaptable to all environments. In his new job, the Labrador will visit injured vets and provide comfort for service members and their families rehabilitating at Walter Reed.
Sully rose to national fame in the wake of Bush’s passing after a photo of the service dog laying by the former president’s casket went viral with the caption “Mission Complete.” The lab was a fixture by 41’s side from last spring until his death, even serving as a “bridesmaid” in former first daughter Barbara Pierce Bush’s wedding in Kennebunkport, Maine.
